Refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A refrigerator includes a partition wall provided between first and second storage chambers and having a partition wall insulator, an evaporator case arranged in the partition wall and communicating with the first and second storage chambers, an evaporator installed inside the evaporator case, a grill cover provided on a rear side of the evaporator case and configured to accommodate a blower fan, and support guides provided in the grill cover and supporting a rear portion of the evaporator, such that an internal storage space of the refrigerator is increased, and a withdrawal distance of a drawer provided in the refrigerator is increased.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 and 35 U.S.C. 365to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2017-0030598 filed on Mar. 10, 2017in Korea, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a refrigerator.

2. Background

A refrigerator may include a plurality of storage chambers in whichstored goods are accommodated such that food is stored in a frozen stateor a refrigerated state, and surfaces of the storage chambers are openedsuch that the food is accommodated and withdrawn. The plurality ofstorage chambers may include a freezer compartment configured to storefood in a frozen state and a refrigerator compartment configured tostore food in a refrigerated state.

A refrigeration system in which a refrigerant circulates may be operatedin the refrigerator. Devices constituting the refrigeration system mayinclude a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and anevaporator. The refrigerant may be evaporated while passing through theevaporator, and in this process, air passing through the vicinity of theevaporator may be cooled. Further, the cooled cold air may be suppliedto the freezer compartment or the refrigerator compartment. Theevaporator may be installed at a rear side of the storage chambers andmay extend vertically.

In recent years, enlarging of an inner storage space, e.g., the storagechambers, of the refrigerator is a main concern of consumers. Thus,there have been a large number of efforts to reduce a spaceaccommodating components of the refrigeration system required in therefrigerator and to relatively increase the volumes of the storagechambers. However, as described above, when the evaporator is providedon the rear side of the storage chambers, there may be a difficulty inthat the sizes of the storage chambers should be reduced to secure aspace for installation of the evaporator.

In particular, the refrigerator may include drawers that may bewithdrawn forward from the storage chambers. Thus, as the sizes, or thefront-rear lengths of the storage chambers are reduced due toarrangement of the evaporator, the front-rear lengths of the drawers mayalso be reduced, and accordingly, the withdrawal distances of thedrawers may be reduced. There is a problem in that when the withdrawaldistances of the drawers are reduced, it may be inconvenient for a userto accommodate food in the drawers.

To solve the above-described problems, a technology of installing theevaporator in a partition wall by which the refrigerator compartment andthe freezer compartment are partitioned has been developed. Meanwhile,in a side-by-side refrigerator in which a freezer compartment and arefrigerator compartment are arranged on left and right sides of therefrigerator, because a partition wall vertically extends between thefreezer compartment and the refrigerator compartment, defrosting watergenerated by the evaporator may be easily discharged.

-   -   However, in a refrigerator in which a refrigerator compartment        and a freezer compartment are arranged on upper and lower sides        of the refrigerator, because a partition wall transversely        extends between the freezer compartment and the refrigerator        compartment, it is difficult to discharge defrosting water        generated by an evaporator. Information on the related art        related thereto will be described below with reference to        Registration Number (Registration date): EP 2,694,894 (Mar. 23,        2016), Title of the invention: COMBINATION DEVICE FOR        REFRIGERATION.

The related art discloses a technology of installing an evaporator in apartition wall by which a refrigerator compartment and a freezercompartment are separated from each other, in a refrigerator in whichthe refrigerator compartment is located on an upper portion of therefrigerator and the freezer compartment is located at a lower portionof the refrigerator. However, the evaporator according to the relatedart is inclined downward as it goes rearward. Such arrangement of theevaporator allows for defrosting water generated by the evaporator to beeasily discharged to a lower side. However, because the evaporator isinclined as it goes rearwards, the thickness of the partition wall forarranging an insulator and the evaporator may be increased. There is aproblem in that when the thickness of the partition wall is increased,storage chambers of the refrigerator become relatively smaller.

Further, a lower surface of the partition wall is inclined downward dueto the inclined arrangement of the evaporator, and correspondingly, aside surface of a drawer provided at an upper portion of the freezercompartment is inclined downward toward a rear of the refrigerator. Inthis case, there is a problem in that storage ability for fooddeteriorates.

Further, according to the arrangement of the evaporator according to therelated art, there is a problem in that because a fan is located rightbehind the evaporator, the defrosting water generated by the evaporatorflows into the fan, and thus malfunction of the fan may be caused.Further, when cold air having high humidity passes through the fan, acondensate may be generated in the fan. According to the related art, aseparate water passage for discharging the condensate of the fan is notprovided, and the condensate flows to a duct to which the cold air issupplied. In this case, there is a problem in that frost caused by thecondensate is generated in the duct.

Meanwhile, a tray collecting the defrosting water must be provided on alower side of the evaporator. According to the arrangement of theevaporator according the related art, to decrease the thickness of thepartition wall as much as possible, the tray should be provided on thelower side of the evaporator to be very close to the evaporator. In thiscase, because the defrosting water stored in the tray is frosted, heatexchange performance of the evaporator deteriorates.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the followingdrawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a refrigeratoraccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the refrigerator having opened doorsaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an inner case and a cold air supplying deviceprovided in the refrigerator according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of the cold air supplying deviceaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a configuration of a cold air generator of the coldair supplying device according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration ofthe cold air generator;

FIG. 7 illustrates a configuration of a flow supply part of the cold airsupplying device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration ofthe flow supply part;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a firstgrill cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the firstgrill cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a secondgrill cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating the configuration of the secondgrill cover according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating configurations of an evaporator and aflow supply part installed in a second cover of evaporator casesaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates a configuration of a side surface of the secondcover;

FIG. 15 is a sectional view illustrating the evaporator, a defrostingwater tray, and the flow supply part according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates a rear portion of the defrosting water tray and aconfiguration of the first grill cover according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates a rear portion of the evaporator and a configurationof the first grill cover according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 18 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which a refrigerantpipe of the evaporator is supported on the first grill cover accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which the secondcover and the first grill cover are coupled to each other according tothe embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 is a rear perspective view illustrating a state in which theflow supply part is coupled to the second cover of an evaporator caseaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 illustrates a state in which the second cover of the evaporatorcase is arranged through first and third grill covers according to theembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22 illustrates a state in which the second cover of the evaporatorcase is arranged through the second grill cover according to theembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 23 illustrates a state in which a defrosting water generated by theevaporator is discharged according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 24 illustrates a configuration of a gas-liquid separator accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 25 illustrates a state in which a heat supply pipe is coupled to adrain pipe according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 26 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of arefrigeration cycle of the refrigerator according to the embodiment ofthe present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a refrigerator 10 according to the embodimentof the present disclosure may include a cabinet 11 in which a storagechamber is provided and doors 21 and 22 provided on a front surface ofthe cabinet 11 to selectively open/close the storage chamber. Thecabinet 11 may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an openedfront surface. Further, the cabinet 11 may include an outer case 60defining an outer appearance of the refrigerator and an inner case 70coupled to an inside of the outer case 60 and defining an inner surfaceof the storage chamber. A cabinet insulator 65 (see FIG. 23) configuredto perform insulation between an outside of the refrigerator and thestorage chamber may be provided between the outer case 60 and the innercase 70.

The storage chamber may include first and second storage chambers 12 and13 controlled at different temperatures. The first storage chamber 12may include a refrigerator compartment 12, and the second storagechamber 13 may include a freezer compartment 13. As an example, therefrigerator compartment 12 may be formed at an upper portion of thecabinet 11 and the freezer compartment 13 may be formed at a lowerportion of the cabinet 11.

In other words, the refrigerator compartment 12 may be arranged abovethe freezer compartment 13. According to such a configuration, becausethe refrigerator compartment 12 relatively frequently used to store orwithdraw food may be arranged at a height corresponding to a waist of auser, the user does not need to bend his/her waist when the refrigeratorcompartment 12 is used, so that convenience may be improved.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a partition wall 50 by which therefrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13 arepartitioned. The partition wall 50 may extend from a front toward a rearof the cabinet 11. As an example, the partition wall 50 may extend fromthe front toward the rear of the cabinet 11 in a direction that isperpendicular to the ground.

The doors 21 and 22 may include a refrigerator compartment door 21rotatably provided on a front side of the refrigerator compartment 12and a freezer compartment door 22 rotatably provided on a front side ofthe freezer compartment 13. As another example, the freezer compartmentdoor 22 may be a drawer door configured to be withdrawn in a forwarddirection.

A first handle 21 a which the user may grip may be provided on a frontsurface of the refrigerator compartment door 21, and a second handle 22a may be provided on a front surface of the freezer compartment door 22.Further, the refrigerator 10 may include a plurality of shelves 31provided in the storage chambers to accommodate food. As an example, theplurality of shelves 31 may be provided in the refrigerator compartment12 to be vertically spaced apart from each other.

The refrigerator 10 may further include drawers 35 configured to bewithdrawn in a forward direction from the storage chamber. The drawers35 may be provided in the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezercompartment 13, and may have accommodation spaces for food formedtherein. The front-rear lengths of the drawers 35 may be increased asthe front-rear widths of the storage chambers are increased, andaccordingly, the withdrawal distances of the drawers 35 may beincreased.

When the withdrawal distances of the drawers 35 are increased,convenience for the user to accommodate food may be improved. Thus, inorder to improve a user's convenience, the refrigerator may beconfigured such that the front-rear widths of the storage chambersbecome relatively larger.

A direction in which the drawers 35 are withdrawn is defined as aforward direction, and a direction in which the drawers 35 areaccommodated is defined as a rearward direction. Further, a first orleftward direction when the refrigerator 10 is viewed from the frontside of the refrigerator 10 is defined as a first or leftward direction,and a second or rightward direction when the refrigerator 10 is viewedfrom the front side of the refrigerator 10 is defined as a second orrightward direction. The definition of the directions may be identicallyapplied throughout the specification.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a display unit or display 25configured to display information on the temperatures and operatingstates of the storage chambers of the refrigerator. As an example, thedisplay 25 may be provided on the front surface of the refrigeratorcompartment door 21.

The inner case 70 may include an inner refrigerator compartment case 71defining the refrigerator compartment 12. The inner refrigeratingcompartment case 71 may have an opened front surface and may have anapproximately rectangular parallelepiped shape.

The inner case 70 may further include an inner freezer compartment case75 defining the freezer compartment 12. The inner freezer compartmentcase 75 may have an opened front surface and may have an approximatelyrectangular parallelepiped shape. The inner freezer compartment case 75may be arranged below the inner refrigerator compartment case 71 to bespaced apart from the inner refrigerator compartment case 71. The innerrefrigerator compartment case 71 may be named a “first inner case”, andthe inner freezer compartment case 75 may be named a “second innercase”.

The partition wall 50 may be arranged between the inner refrigeratorcompartment case 71 and the inner freezer compartment case 75. Thepartition wall 50 may include a front partition wall part or surface 51defining a front outer appearance of the partition wall 50. When thedoors 21 and 22 are opened, the front partition wall surface 51 may belocated between the refrigerator compartment 12 and the freezercompartment 13 when viewed from the outside.

Because the temperatures of the refrigerator compartment 12 and thefreezer compartment 13 are different from each other, the partition wall50 may further include a partition wall insulator 55 provided on a rearside of the front partition wall surface 51 to insulate the refrigeratorcompartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13 from each other. Thepartition wall insulator 55 may be arranged between the bottom surfaceof the inner refrigerator compartment case 71 and the upper surface ofthe inner freezer compartment case 75. It may be understood that thepartition wall 50 includes the bottom surface of the inner refrigeratorcompartment case 71, the partition wall insulator 55, and the uppersurface of the inner freezer compartment case 75.

The refrigerator 10 may include a cold air supplying device (or cold airsupply) 100 configured to supply cold air to the refrigeratorcompartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13. The cold air supply 100may be arranged below the partition wall insulator 55. In detail, thecold air supply 100 may be installed on an inner upper surface of theinner freezer compartment case 75.

The cold air generated by the cold air supply 100 may be supplied to therefrigerator compartment 12 and the freezer compartment 13,respectively. A refrigerator compartment cold air duct 81 through whichat least a portion of the cold air generated by the cold air supply 100flows may be provided on a rear side of the refrigerator compartment 12.Further, refrigerator compartment cold air supplying parts or ports 82configured to supply the cold air to the refrigerator compartment 12 maybe formed in the refrigerator compartment cold air duct 81. Therefrigerator compartment cold air duct 81 may define a rear wall of therefrigerator compartment 12, and the refrigerator compartment cold airsupplying ports 82 may be formed on a front surface of the refrigeratorcompartment cold air duct 81.

The cold air supply 100 may include a freezer compartment cold airsupplying part configured to supply at least a portion of the cold airgenerated by the cold air supply 100 to the freezer compartment 13. Thefreezer compartment cold air supplying part may include a second supplypart or port 346. Descriptions related thereto will be made withreference to the accompanying drawings.

A machine room 80 may be formed on a lower rear side of the innerfreezer compartment case 75. A compressor and an evaporator ascomponents constituting a refrigeration cycle may be installed in themachine room 80.

Referring to FIGS. 4 to 6, the cold air supply 100 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may include a cold air generator200 configured to generate cold air using the evaporation heat of arefrigerant circulating in the refrigeration cycle and a flow supplypart or device 300 configured to supply the cold air generated by thecold air generator 200 to the storage chambers.

The cold air generator 200 may include an evaporator 220 in which therefrigerant is evaporated, a first cover 210 provided above theevaporator 220 and a second cover 270 provided below the evaporator 220.The first cover 210 may be coupled to an upper portion of the secondcover 270, and an inner space defined by the first and second covers 210and 270 may define an installation space in which the evaporator 220 isinstalled.

The first and second covers 210 and 270 may be named an “evaporatorcase” or “evaporator casing” accommodating the evaporator 220, and theinstallation space may be named an “evaporation chamber” or a “heatexchange chamber”. The evaporator cases 210 and 270 may be located onthe bottom surface of the partition wall 50. The partition wall 50 mayinsulate the refrigerator compartment 12 from the heat exchange chamber.

The evaporator 220 may include refrigerant pipes 221 through which therefrigerant flows and fins 223 coupled to the refrigerant pipes 221 toincrease a heat exchange area for the refrigerant. The first cover 210may form at least a portion of the inner freezer compartment case 75. Indetail, the first cover 210 may form an inner upper surface of the innerfreezer compartment case 75.

In other words, the first cover 210 may be formed integrally with theinner freezer compartment case 75. The first cover 210 may include afirst front cover part (or first front cover) 211 provided in front ofthe evaporator 220, first side cover parts (or first side covers) 212extending rearward from opposite sides of the first front cover 211, anda first upper cover part (or first upper cover) 213 coupled to uppersides of the opposite first side covers 212.

A recessed part (or recess) 215 may be formed at a center of the firstupper cover 213. The recess 215 may extend from a front side to a rearside of the first upper cover 213. The first upper cover 213 may beinclined upward from the recess 215 to opposite left and right sides.Such a shape may correspond to a shape of the evaporator 220, which maybe inclined in a left-right direction.

Each of the first side covers 212 may include a first duct coupling part(or first duct coupler) 217 to which a discharge duct 311 of the flowsupply device 300, which will be described below, is coupled. As anexample, the first duct couplers 217 may be formed in the opposite firstside covers 212, respectively. That is, the first duct couplers 217 maybe arranged on opposite surfaces (a left surface and a right surface) ofthe first cover 210.

The cold air stored in the refrigerator compartment 12 may be dischargedthrough the discharge ducts 311, and the discharged cold air may flow tothe inner space defined by the first cover 210 and the second cover 270via the first duct coupling parts 217. Further, the cold air may becooled while passing through the evaporator 220.

The first cover 210 may include a grill cover coupling part (or grillcover coupler) 218 to which first and second grill covers 320 and 330 ofthe flow supply device 300, which will be described below, are coupled.As an example, the grill cover coupler 218 may be vertically penetrated,and upper portions of the first and second grill covers 320 and 330 maybe inserted into the grill cover coupler 218. At least a portion of thecold air generated by the evaporator 220 may flow to a first supply duct380 and may be supplied to the refrigerator compartment 12. The grillcover coupler 218 may be formed in the first upper cover 213.

A pipe penetration part or hole 216 through which a suction pipe 290passes may be formed in the first cover 210. The suction pipe 290 may bea pipe configured to guide the refrigerant evaporated by the evaporator220 to the compressor. The suction pipe 290 may extend from thegas-liquid separator 260, may pass through the pipe penetration hole216, and may extend to the compressor arranged in the machine room 80.The pipe penetration hole 216 may be formed in the recess 215.

The second cover 270, which supports the evaporator 220, may be arrangedin the freezer compartment 13. As an example, the second cover 270 maybe arranged on a lower side of the inner freezer compartment case 75.The second cover 270 may include a cover seating part (or cover seat)273 arranged on a lower side of the evaporator 220 to support theevaporator 220 or a defrosting water tray 240. The cover seat 273 may beinclined downward, that is, to be recessed, from opposite left and rightsides toward a central side, to correspond to the inclined shape of theevaporator 220 and the inclined shape of the defrosting water tray 240.

The second cover 270 may further include a second front cover part (orsecond front cover) 271 provided in front of the cover seat 273.Through-holes 271 a (see FIG. 5) through which the cold air stored inthe freezer compartment 13 may pass may be formed in the second frontcover 271. As an example, the through-holes 271 a may be formed onopposite sides of the second front cover 271 to guide the cold airlocated on a front side of the freezer compartment 13 such that the coldair may easily flow to cover discharge holes 275. By the formation ofthe through-holes 271 a, flow resistance of the cold air flowing towardthe cover discharge holes 275 may be reduced.

The second cover 270 may further include second side cover parts (orsecond side covers) 272 coupled to opposite sides of the second frontcover 271 to extend rearward. Further, the opposite second side covers272 may be coupled to opposite sides of the cover seat 273 to extendupward. The first cover 210 may be coupled to upper portions of thesecond side covers 272.

The cover discharge holes 275 configured to guide the cold air stored inthe freezer compartment 13 to the evaporator 220 may be formed in thesecond side covers 272. As an example, a plurality of holes may beincluded in the cover discharge holes 275, and the plurality of holesmay be arranged from front sides toward rear sides of the second sidecovers 272. The cold air in the freezer compartment 13 may flow to theinner space defined by the first and second covers 210 and 270 throughthe cover discharge holes 275 and may be cooled while passing throughthe evaporator 220.

The cold air generator 200 may further include a first heater 243coupled to the evaporator 220 to supply a predetermined amount of heatto the evaporator 220. The first heater 243, which may be a heaterconfigured to provide an amount of heat to melt ice when frost occurs inthe evaporator 220, may be named a “first defrosting heater”. As anexample, the first heater 243 may be coupled to an upper portion of theevaporator 220.

The cold air generator 200 may further include evaporator supportingdevices (or evaporator supports) 231, 233, 236 and 329 configured tosupport the evaporator 220. The evaporator supports 231, 233, 236, and329 may be located inside the evaporator cases 210 and 270. Further, theevaporator supports 231, 233, 236, and 329 may include evaporatorholders 231 and 233, a hook device or hook 236, and support guides 329(see FIG. 9).

The evaporator holders 231 and 233 may include a first holder 231supporting a front portion of the evaporator 220 and a second holder 233supporting a rear portion of the evaporator 220. The first holder 231may be located on the front upper side of the defrosting water tray 240and the second holder 233 may be located on the rear upper side of thedefrosting water tray 240.

The hook 236 may be provided in the first holder 231 to support theevaporator 220. As an example, the hook 236 may be arranged on the frontsurface of the first holder 231 to support the refrigerant pipes 221 ofthe evaporator 220. The hook 236 may include second pipe supports 236 asupporting bent pipes of the refrigerant pipes 221, which protrude tothe front side of the first holder 231, and a cover coupling part (orcover coupler) 236 b protruding upward from the second pipe support 236a and coupled to the first cover 210. The plurality of second pipesupports 236 a may be provided on opposite sides of the hook 236 tosupport the plurality of bent pipes.

The first cover 210 may include a hook coupling part (or hook coupler)219 a to which the cover coupler 236 b is coupled. The hook coupler 219a may be provided in the upper cover 213. The cover coupler 236 b mayprotrude upward from the upper cover 213 to be caught by the hookcoupler 219 a. As an example, the hook coupler 219 a may be provided inthe recess 215.

The support guides 329 may be provided in the first grill cover 320. Asan example, the support guides 329 may protrude forward from the frontsurface of the first grill cover 320 to support the refrigerant pipes221 of the evaporator 220. The support guides 329 may include a firstpipe support 329 a supporting bent portions of the refrigerant pipes221, which protrude to the rear side of the second holder 233. The firstpipe support 329 a may be provided below the support guides 329, mayhave a downward recessed shape, and may stably support the bent pipes.

Further, the plurality of support guides 329 may be provided on oppositesides of the first grill cover 320. Thus, a plurality of heat exchangers220 a and 220 b may be stably supported by the plurality of supportguides 329.

The first and second covers 210 and 270 may be coupled to each other. Acover fixing part or boss 219 b to which a screw is fastened may beprovided in the first front cover 211 of the first cover 210. The screwmay be coupled to the cover fixing boss 219 b, may extend downward, andmay be fastened to an upper portion of the second front cover 271 of thesecond cover 270. As an example, the cover fixing boss 219 b may beprovided in plurality, and the plurality of cover fixing bosses 219 bmay be transversely spaced apart from each other. According to such astructure, the front portions of the first and second covers 210 and 270may be stably coupled.

The cold air generator 200 may further include a defrosting sensor 228configured to detect the temperature near the evaporator 220 todetermine a defrosting start time or a defrosting termination time ofthe evaporator 220. The defrosting sensor 228 may be installed in theevaporator holders 231 and 233, for example, the second holder 233.

The cold air generator 200 may further include a fuse 229 configured tointerrupt a current applied to the first heater 243. When thetemperature of the evaporator 220 is not less than a predeterminedtemperature, the fuse 229 may be cut to interrupt the current suppliedto the first heater 243, so that a safety accident may be prevented. Thefuse 229 may be installed in the evaporator holders 231 and 233, forexample, the second holder 233.

The cold air generator 220 may further include evaporator insulators 235and 247 configured to perform insulation between the heat exchange areaformed near the evaporator 220 and a space outside the heat exchangearea. In detail, the evaporator insulators 235 and 247 may include acover insulator 235 arranged on a front side of the first holder 231 toinsulate a front space of the evaporator 220. Further, the coverinsulator 235 may be inserted into an insulator inserting part or slot271 b formed in the second front cover 271 of the second cover 270.

The evaporator insulators 235 and 247 may include a tray insulator 247supported by the second cover 270. The tray insulator 247 may bearranged below the defrosting water tray 240 to insulate a lower spaceof the evaporator 220. The tray insulator 247 may be seated on the coverseat 273 of the second cover 270 and may be positioned below the secondheater 245. In particular, the tray insulator 247 may prevent heatgenerated by the second heater 245 from being applied to the freezercompartment 13.

The cold air generator 220 may further include the defrosting water tray240 arranged below the evaporator 220 to collect the defrosting watergenerated by the evaporator 220. The defrosting water tray 240 may berecessed from opposite sides toward a central portion of the defrostingwater tray 240 to correspond to the shape of the evaporator 220. Thus,the defrosting water generated by the evaporator 220 may be stored inthe defrosting water tray 240 and may flow to the central portion of thedefrosting water tray 240.

In a spaced distance between the defrosting water tray 240 and theevaporator 220, a distance between the evaporator 220 and the centralportion of the defrosting water tray 240 may be larger than a distancebetween the evaporator 220 and the opposite sides of the defrostingwater tray 240. In other words, the spaced distance between thedefrosting water tray 240 and the evaporator 220 may be graduallyincreased from opposite sides toward central portions of the evaporator220 and the defrosting water tray 240. According to such aconfiguration, even when an amount of the defrosting water flowing tothe central portion of the defrosting water tray 240 increases, thedefrosting water may not contact with the surface of the evaporator 220,so that the frost in the evaporator 220 may be prevented.

The cold air generator 200 may further include the second heater 245arranged below the defrosting water tray 240 to supply a predeterminedamount of heat to the defrosting water tray 240. The second heater 245,which is a heater configured to provide an amount of heat for meltingice when frost occurs in the defrosting water tray 240, may be named a“second defrosting heater”. The second heater 245 may be arrangedbetween the defrosting water tray 240 and the tray insulator 247.

As an example, the second heater 245 may include a surface-shaped heaterhaving a shape of a plate or a panel. The second heater 245 may beprovided on the bottom surface of the defrosting water tray 240, andthus the defrosting water flowing through the upper surface of thedefrosting water tray 240 may not be disturbed by the second heater 245,so that the defrosting water may be easily discharged. Further, thedefrosting water may not be applied to the surface of the second heater245, so that a phenomenon in which the second heater 245 is corroded ordamaged by the defrosting water may be prevented.

The cold air generator 200 may further include a drain pipe 295configured to discharge the defrosting water collected in the defrostingwater tray 240 from the defrosting water tray 240. The drain pipe 295may be arranged on a rear side of grill covers 320, 330, and 340, whichwill be described below. Further, the drain pipe 295 may be connected toa rear side of the defrosting water tray 240, extend downward, andcommunicate with the machine room 80. The defrosting water may flowthrough the drain pipe 295 to be introduced into the machine room 80,and may be collected in a drain fan provided in the machine room 80.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the flow supply device 300 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may include fan assemblies 350 and355 configured to generate a flow of the cold air. The fan assemblies350 and 355 may include a blower fan 350. As an example, the blower fan350 may include a centrifugal fan by which the cold air is introduced inan axial direction and is discharged in a circumferential direction. Thecold air flowing through a refrigerator compartment suction passage andthe cold air flowing through a freezer compartment suction passage maybe combined with each other and the combined cold air may be introducedinto the blower fan 350.

The blower fan 350 may include a hub 351 to which a fan motor iscoupled, a plurality of blades 352 arranged on an outer peripheralsurface of the hub 351, and a bell mouth 353 coupled to front ends ofthe plurality of blades 352 to guide the cold air such that the cold airis introduced into the blower fan 350. The blower fan 350 may beinstalled in an inner space between the first and second grill covers320 and 330. The blower fan 350 may be seated on a fan seating part (orfan seat) 332 provided in the grill covers 320 and 330. The fan seat 332may be provided in the second grill cover 330.

The fan assemblies 350 and 355 may further include a fan support 355coupled to the blower fan 350 to allow the blower fan 350 to besupported on the grill covers 320 and 330. The fan support 355 mayinclude cover supports 356 coupled to support coupling parts (or supportcouplers) 332 a of the fan seat 332. The plurality of cover supports 356may be formed along a circumference of the fan support 355.

The first and second grill covers 320 and 330 may define an installationspace (hereinafter, referred to as a fan installation space) in whichthe fan assemblies 350 and 355 are installed. The grill covers 320 and330 may be located on a rear side of the freezer compartment 13, e.g.,on the front side of a rear surface of the inner freezer compartmentcase 75. The grill covers 320 and 330 may include a first grill cover320 and a second grill cover 330 coupled to a rear side of the firstgrill cover 320. The installation space may be defined as an inner spaceformed by coupling the first and second grill covers 320 and 330 to eachother.

The first grill cover 320 may include a first grill cover body 321having a plate shape and a fan suction part or port 322 formed in thefirst grill cover body 321 to guide the cold air heat-exchanged by theevaporator 220 such that the cold air flows to the blower fan 350. As anexample, the fan suction port 322 may be formed at an approximatelycentral portion of the first grill cover body 321 and may have acircular shape. The air passing through the evaporator 220 may beintroduced into the fan installing space via the fan suction port 322.

Condensate guides 322 a and 322 b configured to guide a condensategenerated around the fan suction port 322 or a condensate generated inthe evaporator 220 to the lower side may be provided outside the fansuction port 322. Here, the condensate generated around the fan suctionport 322 may include a condensate generated in the first and secondgrill covers 320 and 330 or the blower fan 350.

The condensate guides 322 a and 322 b may protrude from a front surfaceof the first gill cover body 321. The condensate guides 322 a and 322 bmay include first guides 322 a extending to be inclined downward fromopposite sides of the front surface of the first grill cover body 321 toa central portion of the first grill cover body 321. Thus, thedefrosting water existing on the front side of the first grill coverbody 321 may be discharged to the central portion of the first grillcover body 321 along the first guides 322 a.

Further, the first guides 322 a may extend to be inclined downward fromthe front surface of the first grill cover body 321 toward the frontside. Thus, the defrosting water existing on the front side of the firstgrill cover body 321 may flow along the first guides 322 a and may dropto the defrosting water tray 240.

The condensate guides 322 a and 322 b may further include second guides322 b extending to be inclined downward from opposite sides of the fansuction port 322. The second guides 322 b may be connected to the firstguides 322 a to extend toward a central portion of the first grill coverbody 321. As an example, the second guides 322 b may be rounded.

The first grill cover 320 may further include blocking parts or walls328. The blocking walls 328 may be provided on a front surface of thefirst grill cover body 321 and may act to block air to prevent the airfrom being directly introduced from opposite rear sides of theevaporator 220 to the fan suction port 322.

At least a portion of the air introduced into the evaporator cases 210and 270 through the first duct couplers 217 and the cover dischargingholes 275 may flow from opposite sides to the rear side of theevaporator 220 without passing through the evaporator 220, and may besuctioned to the fan suction port 322. Thus, the blocking walls 328 maybe provided to prevent the air from bypassing the evaporator 220 andbeing directly suctioned to the fan suction part 322.

The blocking walls 328 may be provided on opposite sides of the frontsurface of the first grill cover body 321 to protrude forward so as toprevent flow of the air suctioned to the fan suction port 322 along thefront surface of the first grill cover body 321. Further, the blockingwalls 328 may be stably supported on the upper surfaces of the firstguides 322 a.

The first grill cover 320 may further include mounting guides 326. Themounting guides 326 may guide the second cover 270 such that the secondcover 270 is stably supported on the first grill cover 320. The mountingguides 326 may be provided on the front surface of the first grill coverbody 321 and support a rear side of the second cover 270.

The mounting guides 326 may protrude forward from the front surface ofthe first grill cover body 321 and may be spaced apart from upperportions of first supply ports 325. A rear portion of the second cover270 may be inserted into spaces between the mounting guides 326 and thefirst supply ports 325 and may be stably supported. Thus, the defrostingwater tray 240 supported by the second cover 270 may be also stablysupported on the first grill cover 320.

The mounting guides 326 may be inclined or rounded from lower portionsof the condensate guides 322 a and 322 b. A configuration of themounting guides 326 may correspond to the shape of the second cover 270.Further, the mounting guides 326 may be provided on opposite sides ofthe fan suction port 322.

Sealing members (or seals) 326 a in contact with the second cover 270may be provided on lower sides of the mounting guides 326. When thesecond cover 270 is mounted on the front side of the first grill cover320, the seals 326 a may come into contact with the rear side of thesecond cover 270. Accordingly, the second cover 270 may be stablysupported, and the defrosting water may be prevented from leaking alonga space between the second cover 270 and the mounting guides 326.

A first duct coupling part (or first duct coupler) 327 may be providedin the first grill cover 320. The first duct coupler 327 may be providedat an upper portion of the first grill cover body 321. The first ductcoupler 327 may define a “duct coupling part” to which the first supplyduct 380 is coupled, together with a second duct coupling part (orsecond duct coupler) 332 c of the second grill cover 330. The ductcoupling part may have a shape of a coupling hole to communicate withthe first supply duct 380.

The first grill cover 320 may include a first recessed part (or firstrecess) 324 recessed upward from a lower portion of the first grillcover body 321. The first recess 324 may define a first cover insertingpart or portion 324, 342, and 344 into which the second cover 270 or thedefrosting water tray 240 of the cold air generator 200 is inserted,together with a second recessed part (or second recess) 344 and aninsertion guide 342 of the third grill cover 340. The second recess 344may be recessed downward from an upper portion of the third grill cover340, and the insertion guide 342 may be provided on a front surface ofthe third grill cover 340 to protrude forward from the second recessedpart 344.

When the third grill cover 340 is coupled to the front side of the firstgrill cover 320, the first and second recesses 324 and 344 and theinsertion guide 342 may be engaged with each other to define the firstcover inserting portion 324, 344, and 342. The first cover insertingportion may be understood as an insertion hole of the first and secondgrill covers 320 and 340.

The second grill cover body 330 may further include a second coverinserting part or hole 333 into which the second cover 270 or thedefrosting water tray 240 of the cold air generator 200 is inserted. Thesecond cover 270 or the defrosting water tray 240 may extend to thefirst and third grill covers 320 and 340 through the first coverinserting portion 324, 344, and 342 and extend to a rear side of thesecond grill cover 330 through the second cover inserting hole 333.Further, the second cover 270 or the defrosting water tray 240 may beconnected to the drain pipe 295 and the defrosting water stored in thedefrosting water tray 240 may be introduced into the drain pipe 295 (seeFIG. 23).

The third grill cover 340 may be coupled to a front side of the firstgrill cover 320. Further, the third grill cover 340 may extend to thelower side of the first grill cover 320. The third grill cover 340 mayinclude a third grill cover body 341 having a plate shape, and afastening hole 341 a formed in the third grill cover body 341 andcoupled to a third grill cover coupling part or boss 334 of the secondgrill cover 330. A predetermined fastening member may pass through thefastening hole 341 a of the third grill cover 340 to be coupled to thethird grill cover coupling boss 334. The third grill cover coupling boss334 may include a protrusion rib into which the fastening member may beinserted.

The third grill cover body 341 may further include the insertion guide342 protruding forward from the third grill cover body 341 andconfigured to guide the second cover 270 or the defrosting water tray240 such that the second cover 270 or the defrosting water tray 240 isinserted into the first and third grill cover 320 and 340. Because theinsertion guide 342 protrudes forward from the second recess 344, aspace through which the second cover 270 or the defrosting water tray240 may be inserted through the first cover inserting portion 324, 344,and 342 may be sufficiently secured.

The third grill cover body 341 may further include a first grill coversupport 347 supporting the first supply ports 325. The first grill coversupport 347 may extend the second recess 344 toward the outside of thethird grill cover body 341. The first supply ports 325 may protrude fromthe first grill cover body 321 and may be supported on the upper side ofthe first grill cover support 347.

The grill covers 320, 330, and 340 may include a plurality of cold airsupplying ports 325 and 346 configured to discharge the cold air passingthrough the blower fan 350 to the freezer compartment 13. In detail, theplurality of cold air supplying ports 325 and 346 may include firstsupply ports 325 formed in the first grill cover 320. The plurality offirst supply ports 325 may be arranged on opposite sides of the fansuction port 322, and may be located above the first cover insertingportion 324, 342, and 344. The first supply ports 325 may supply thecold air toward an upper space of the freezer compartment 13.

As an example, the first supply ports 325 may supply the cold air towardthe lower surface of the cold air generator 200, e.g., the bottomsurface of the second cover 270. Dew may be generated on an outersurface of the second cover 270 due to a difference between the internaltemperature of the second cover 270 and the internal temperature of thefreezer compartment 13.

The cold air supplied through the first supply ports 325 may flow towardthe second cover 270, so that the dew may be evaporated or the frostexisting in the second cover 270 may be removed. To achieve this, thefirst supply ports 325 may be arranged at locations that are lower thanthe bottom surface of the second cover 270. Further, the first guides322 a may protrude forward and be inclined upward from the front surfaceof the first grill cover body 321.

The plurality of cold air supplying ports 325 and 346 may include asecond supply port 346 formed in the third grill cover 340. The secondsupply port 346 may be formed at an approximately vertical centralportion of the third grill cover 340 and may supply the cold air towarda central space or a lower space of the freezer compartment 13. Thethird grill cover 340 may be named a “cold air supply duct” in that thethird grill cover 340 may extend downward from the first grill cover 320and supply the cold air to the freezer compartment 13 through the secondsupply port 346.

The second grill cover 330 may be coupled to a rear side of the firstgrill cover 320. The second grill cover 330 may include a second grillcover body 331 having a plate shape. The second grill cover body 331 mayinclude the fan seat 332 having the support couplers 332 a coupled tothe fan support 355. The fan seat 332 may be arranged at a positioncorresponding to the fan suction port 322 of the first grill cover 320.Further, the fan seat 332 may further include a wire penetration hole332 b through which an electric wire connected to the blower fan 350passes.

A first grill cover coupling part or boss 338 coupled to the first grillcover 320 may be provided in the second grill cover body 331. Apredetermined fastening member may be coupled to the first grill covercoupling boss 338 to be fastened to a rear surface of the first grillcover 320. Further, the second grill cover body 331 may include a secondduct coupling part (or second duct coupler) 332 c coupled to a rearportion of the first duct coupler 327 of the first grill cover 320. Thefirst and second duct couplers 327 and 332 c may be coupled to the firstsupply duct 380.

The second grill cover 330 may further include a coupling guide 337provided below the second grill cover body 331 and coupled to the firstgrill cover 320. The coupling guide 337 may protrude forward from thesecond grill cover body 331 to support the rear surface of the firstgrill cover 320, and may surround the second cover inserting hole 333.

The third grill cover coupling boss 334 coupled to the third grill cover340 may be provided at a lower portion of the coupling guide 337. Apredetermined fastening member may fasten the third grill cover couplingboss 334 and a fastening hole 341 a of the third grill cover 340 to eachother. Further, the coupling guide 337 may include the second coverinserting hole 333 into which the second cover 270 or the defrostingwater tray 240 is inserted. The second cover inserting hole 333 may beformed such that front and rear sides of the coupling guide 337 passtherethrough.

The coupling guide 337 may further include cover support members 335supporting a rear portion of the second cover 270. The cover supportmembers 335 may be provided on one surface of the coupling guide 337 toextend in a transverse direction, and may be configured to supportsupport protrusions 279 (see FIG. 21) provided on a rear side of thesecond cover 270. As an example, the cover support members 335 may beprovided in plurality, and may extend from opposite inner surfaces ofthe coupling guide 337 in a transverse direction.

An upper portion of the coupling guide 337 may function as a watercollector configured to collect the condensate generated inside theblower fan 350 or the first and second grill covers 320 and 330.Discharge guides 336 a and 336 b configured to discharge the condensategenerated by the blower fan 350 to the lower side may be provided at anupper portion of the coupling guide 337. The discharge guides 336 a and336 b may be located below the blower fan 350.

The discharge guides 336 a and 336 b may include a first discharge guide336 a and a second discharge guide 336 b that define a condensate hole.The first discharge guide 336 a may extend from a first surface of thecoupling guide 337 in a first direction, and the second discharge guide336 b may extend from a second surface of the coupling guide 337 in asecond direction. As an example, based on FIG. 12, the first surface andthe second surface may correspond to a right surface and a left surface,respectively, and the first direction and the second direction maycorrespond to a leftward direction and a rightward direction.

The first discharge guide 336 a and the second discharge guide 336 b maybe spaced apart from each other, and the space may define the condensatehole 336 c. The condensate hole 336 c may be located above the secondcover inserting hole 333.

The first discharge guide 336 a and the second discharge guide 336 b maybe inclined downward. Further, with respect to the horizontal surface,an inclined angle θ1 of the first discharge guide 336 a and an inclinedangle θ2 of the second discharge guide 336 b may be different from eachother. As an example, the angle θ1 may be larger than the angle θ2.

Further, the height of the first discharge guide 336 a may be relativelyhigher than the height of the second discharge guide 336 b. In otherwords, the uppermost height of the first discharge guide 336 a may behigher than the uppermost height of the second discharge guide 336 b,and the lowermost height of the first discharge guide 336 a may behigher than the lowermost height of the second discharge guide 336 b.

An extending direction of the first discharge guide 336 a and anextending direction of the second discharge guide 336 b may intersecteach other. In other words, the first discharge guide 336 a and thesecond discharge guide 336 b may be arranged to vertically overlap eachother. As an example, a vertical virtual line 11 passing through an endof the first discharge guide 336 may pass through the second dischargeguide 336 b.

While the cold air flows through the blower fan 350, the condensate maybe generated around the fan assemblies 350 and 355. Further, thecondensate may be collected at an upper portion of the coupling guide337 and may drop to the defrosting water tray 240 through the condensatehole 336 c.

When the first discharge guide 336 a and the second discharge guide 336b are located at the same height, and the extending directions of thefirst and second discharge guides 336 a and 336 b may be symmetric toeach other toward the condensate hole 336 c, the cold air may leakthrough the condensate hole 336 c while the blower fan 350 rotates. Inthis case, the condensate existing around the coupling guide 337 may befrozen. Thus, in the present embodiment, the first and second dischargeguides 336 a and 336 b may be configured as described above, so that theproblems may be solved.

As an example, when the blower fan 350 rotates in a clockwise directionA with respect to FIG. 12, the cold air generated by the blower fan 350may not be discharged to the lower side through the condensate hole 336c by the first and second discharge guides 336 a and 336 b arranged tointersect each other when viewed from above. Further, the defrostingwater existing on the upper side of the first discharge guide 336 a maybe discharged toward the condensate hole 336 c in a direction B, and thedefrosting water existing on the upper side of the second dischargeguide 336 b may be discharged to the condensate hole 336 c in adirection C. As an example, the direction B and the direction C may bedifferent from each other. According to such a structure and an effectof the condensate, the condensate may be easily discharged.

The condensate hole 336 c may be located on an upper side of the secondcover inserting hole 333 and the defrosting water tray 240 may passthrough the second cover inserting hole 333, so that the defrostingwater dropped through the condensate hole 336 c may be collected in thedefrosting water tray 240. According to such a configuration, thecondensate generated by the fan assemblies 350 and 355 may be easilydischarged.

The flow supply device 300 may further include discharge ducts 311coupled to the evaporator cases 210 and 270 to guide the cold air storedin the refrigerator compartment 12 to the insides of the evaporatorcases 210 and 270, that is, toward the evaporator 220. The dischargeducts 311 may be coupled to the inner refrigerator compartment case 71to extend downward, and may be coupled to the evaporator cases 210 and270.

Discharge holes 312 which communicate with the refrigerator compartment12 and into which the cold air in the refrigerator compartment 12 isintroduced may be included in upper portions of the discharge ducts 311.A plurality of first grills 312 a may be provided in the discharge holes312 to prevent foreign matters existing in the refrigerator compartment12 from being introduced into the discharge ducts 311 through thedischarge holes 312. The discharge holes 312 may be understood as spacesformed between the plurality of first grills 312 a.

Further, evaporator supply parts or ports 313 coupled to the evaporatorcases 210 and 270 to introduce the cold air discharged from therefrigerator compartment 12 into the installation space for theevaporator 220 may be formed at lower portions of the discharge ducts311. As an example, the evaporator supply ports 313 may be coupled tothe first duct couplers 217 of the first cover 210.

The discharge ducts 311 may be provided on opposite sides of theevaporator cases 210 and 270. Thus, the cold air stored in therefrigerator compartment 12 may be discharged to opposite sides of theinner refrigerator compartment case 71 and may be supplied to theinsides of the evaporator cases 210 and 270 through the discharge ducts311. Further, the supplied air may be cooled while passing through theevaporator 220.

The flow supply device 300 may further include a first supply duct 380through which at least a portion of the air having passed through theblower fan 350 flows. As an example, the first supply duct 380 may becoupled to the duct couplers 327 and 332 c to guide a flow of the coldair to be supplied to the refrigerator compartment 12. The duct couplers327 and 332 c may be inserted into the grill cover coupler 218.

A cold air duct connector 382 connected to the refrigerator compartmentcold air duct 81 may be formed at an upper portion of the first supplyduct 380. Thus, the cold air flowing through the first supply duct 380may be introduced into the refrigerator compartment cold air duct 81 toflow upward and may be supplied to the refrigerator compartment 12through the refrigerator compartment cold air supplying ports 82.

The third grill cover 340 may further include a cover duct 349 throughwhich at least a portion of the cold air passing through the blower fan350 flows. As an example, the cover duct 349 may guide a flow of thecold air to be supplied to the freezer compartment 13, and may define alower configuration of the third grill cover 340. Further, a duct supplypart or port 349 a configured to discharge the cold air to the freezercompartment 13 may be formed at a lower portion of the cover duct 349.

A portion of the cold air passing through the blower fan 350 may flowupward and may be supplied to the refrigerator compartment 12 throughthe first supply duct 380. Further, the remaining cold air may flow toopposite sides of the blower fan 350, and a portion of the remainingcold air may be supplied to an upper space of the freezer compartment 13through the plurality of first supply ports 325.

The cold air not supplied through the first supply ports 325 may furtherflow downward, and may be supplied to a central space of the freezercompartment through the second supply port 346. Further, the cold airnot supplied through the second supply port 346 may further flowdownward, may be introduced into the cover duct 349, and may be suppliedto a lower space of the freezer compartment 13 through the duct supplyport 349 a.

Referring to FIGS. 13 to 15, the cold air supplying device 100 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the evaporator220 installed inside the evaporator cases 210 and 270. The evaporator220 may include the refrigerant pipes 221 through which the refrigerantflows and the fins 223 coupled to the refrigerant pipes 221. As anexample, the refrigerant pipes 221 may be shaped to be bent severaltimes, may extend transversely, and may be vertically arranged in tworows. According to such a configuration, a flow distance of therefrigerant may be increased, so that a heat exchange amount may beincreased.

The fins 223 may vertically extend to be coupled to the two-rowrefrigerant pipes 221, and may guide a flow of the cold air to promoteheat exchange between the cold air and the refrigerant. According to therefrigerant pipes 221 and the fins 223, heat exchange performance of therefrigerant may be improved.

The fins 223 may be provided in plurality. The plurality of fins 223 maybe spaced apart from each other in a front-rear direction. Further, atleast some of the plurality of fins 223 may extend from lateral sidestoward a central side of the evaporator 220 to guide flow of the coldair from the lateral sides to the central side.

The gas-liquid separator 260 configured to separate a gas refrigerant ofthe refrigerant passing through the evaporator 220 and supply theseparated gas refrigerant to the suction pipe 290 may be installed in anexit of the outlet pipe. The gas-liquid separator 260 may be installedin a fan suction passage 227. According to such arrangement of thegas-liquid separator 260, the gas-liquid separator 260 may be arrangedat a relatively low position, and accordingly, the vertical height ofthe cold air supplying device 100 may be reduced.

The evaporator 220 may further include the first heater 243 coupled toan upper portion of the refrigerant pipes 221 to provide a predeterminedamount of heat to the evaporator 220 at a defrosting time of theevaporator 220 so as to melt ice frosted in the refrigerant pipes 221 orthe fins 223. The evaporator 220 may include side parts or portionsdefining opposite portions of the evaporator 220 and a central part orportion defining a central portion of the evaporator 220. The side partsmay include a plurality of heat exchangers 220 a and 220 b. Further, thecentral part or portion 220 c may include the fan suction passage 227formed between the plurality of heat exchangers 220 a and 220 b todefine a suction-side passage of the blower fan 350.

The plurality of heat exchangers 220 a and 220 b may include a firstheat exchanger 220 a and a second heat exchanger 220 b. Further, the fansuction passage 227 may be a cold air passage not having the refrigerantpipes 221 and the fins 223. According to such a configuration, the coldair cooled while passing through the first and second heat exchangers220 a and 220 b may be joined to each other in the fan suction passage227 and may flow toward the blower fan 350. Further, the first andsecond heat exchangers 220 a and 220 b may include the refrigerant pipes221 and the fins 223.

The cold air supplying device 100 may include the first holder 231supporting a front portion of the evaporator 220 and the second holder233 supporting a rear portion of the evaporator 220. The first holder231 or the second holder 233 may include through-holes 234 b on whichthe refrigerant pipes 221 are supported (see FIG. 17).

The first and second covers 231 and 233 may be supported on oppositesides of the second cover 270. Holder supports 272 a supporting thefirst holder 231 or the second holder 233 may be provided on sidesurfaces of the second cover 270, that is, second side cover parts 272.As an example, the holder supports 272 a may include ribs provided oninner surfaces of the second side cover parts 272 and having insertionholes such that at least a portion of the first holder 231 or the secondholder 233 may be inserted thereinto.

Side guides 277 may be provided in the second side covers 272. The sideguides 277 may include a plurality of ribs defining the cover dischargeholes 275. The plurality of ribs may be spaced apart from each other ina front-rear direction. Each of the side guides 277 may include a firstguide extension 277 a extending upward from a lower end of thecorresponding cover discharge hole 275 and a second guide extension 277b extending from the first guide extension 277 a to be inclined upward.

The condensate existing in the evaporator cases 210 and 270 or thedefrosting water generated while ice is melted may be discharged throughthe defrosting water tray 240. When water existing adjacent to the coverdischarge holes 275 is discharged to the outside through the coverdischarge holes 275, the water may be introduced into the storagechambers of the refrigerator.

In particular, when the blower fan 350 is switched off so that the flowof the cold air into the cover discharge holes 275 does not occur, thisproblem may become even more serious. Thus, as the side guides 277 areprovided inside the cover discharge holes 275, the water existing on theupper side of the second cover 270 may be easily discharged to the lowerside, so that the water may be prevented from being introduced into thestorage chambers of the refrigerator.

The first heat exchanger 220 a and the second heat exchanger 220 b mayextend from the central portion to the lateral sides of the evaporator220 to intersect each other. In other words, the first heat exchanger220 a and the second heat exchanger 220 b may be inclined upward towardthe lateral sides with respect to the fan suction passage 227.

According to a configuration of the evaporator 220, a vertical height ofthe cold air supply 100 may be relatively reduced, so that a storagespace of the freezer compartment 13 may be relatively increased. Furtherthe vertical height of the cold air supply 100 may not be large, so thatthe relatively large thickness of the partition wall insulator 55located in the partition wall 50 may be secured. As a result, there isan advantage in that even while the thickness of the partition wallinsulator 55 is relatively increased, the entire thicknesses of thepartition wall 50 and the cold air supply 100 may be relatively reduced.

Further, as compared with an evaporator horizontally arranged in atransverse direction, the heat exchange area of the evaporator 220 isrelatively increased, so that heat exchange performance may be improved.According to a configuration in which the evaporator 220 is inclined ina V shape, the first and second holders 231 and 233 supporting a frontportion and a rear portion of the evaporator 220 may be also upwardinclined from a central portion toward opposite sides thereof.

The defrosting water tray 240 configured to collect the defrosting watergenerated by the evaporator 220 may be installed on a lower side of theevaporator 220. The defrosting water tray 240 may be spaced downwardapart from a lower end of the evaporator 220 to store the defrostingwater dropped from the evaporator 220. The defrosting water tray 240 mayhave a water collecting surface inclined downward to correspond toinclined arrangement of the evaporator 220.

Referring to FIGS. 16 to 18, the defrosting water tray 240 according tothe embodiment may be arranged on a front side of the first grill cover320, and the condensate or the defrosting water collected in thedefrosting water tray 240 may flow to the rear side of the grill covers320, 330, and 340 through the first cover inserting portion 324, 342,and 344, and the second cover inserting hole 333. At this time, thewater existing on the front surface of the first grill cover 320 may becollected in the defrosting water tray 240 along the condensate guides322 a and 322 b.

The blocking walls 328 may be provided on the front surface of the firstgrill cover 320. The blocking walls 328 may be arranged on a rear sideof the second holder 233 supporting a rear portion of the evaporator220. In other words, the blocking walls 328 may block a space betweenthe front surface of the first grill cover 320 and the second holder233. As an example, the blocking walls 328 may support a rear portion ofthe second holder 233.

Further, the blocking walls 328 may be located closer to side surfacesof the first grill cover 320 than the support guides 329. In otherwords, the support guides 329 may be located between the blocking walls328 and the fan suction hole 322. Thus, the blocking walls 328 mayprevent the air from flowing from lateral sides of the evaporator 220toward the fan suction hole 322.

According to arrangement of the blocking walls 328, a space formedbetween the first grill cover 320 and the evaporator 220 may be limitedas functioning as a cold air passage. Thus, because the air suctioned bythe cover discharge holes 275 and flowing to the rear side is blocked bythe blocking walls 328, the air may fail to flow to the fan suction hole322 and may pass through the evaporator 220. As a result, the airintroduced into the evaporator cases 210 and 270 may be restrained frombypassing the evaporator 220, so that heat exchange efficiency throughthe evaporator 220 may be improved.

The support guides 329 may be provided on the front surface of the firstgrill cover 320. The support guides 329 may be spaced apart from theblocking walls 328 toward the fan suction hole 322. The support guides329 may include first pipe supports 329 a supporting bent pipes 221 a ofthe refrigerant pipes 221, which may protrude to the rear side of thesecond holder 233. The first pipe support 329 a may be provided belowthe support guides 329, may have a downward recessed shape, and maystably support the bent pipes 221 a. As a result, the rear portion ofthe evaporator 220 may be stably supported on the first grill cover 320.

Referring to FIGS. 19 to 22, the second cover 270 according to theembodiment may support a lower side of the defrosting water tray 240.The second cover 270 may pass through the first cover inserting portion324, 342, and 344 and the second cover inserting hole 333 together withthe defrosting water tray 240, to extend toward the rear side of thegrill covers 320, 330, and 340, and may communicate with the drain pipe295.

The second cover 270 may be mounted on the front surface of the firstgrill cover 320 while moving from the front side to the rear side of thefirst grill cover 320. Grill cover mounting parts 278 a inserted intospaces between the mounting guides 326 of the first grill cover 320 andthe first support ports 325 may be provided at rear portions of thesecond cover 270. Further, the first grill cover 320 may includeinsertion parts or grooves 321 a which are provided between the mountingguides 326 and the first supply ports 325 and into which the grill covermounting parts 278 a may be inserted.

The second cover 270 may be supported on upper portions of the firstsupply ports 325. The first supply ports 325 may protrude forward fromthe first grill cover body 321, and at least a portion of the bottomsurface of the second cover 270 may be seated on the upper surfaces ofthe first supply ports 325. The bottom surface of the second cover 270may be seated on the first supply ports 325, and the grill covermounting parts 278 a may be mounted on the insertion grooves 321 a, sothat the second cover 270 may be stably supported on the first grillcover 320. Thus, the defrosting water tray 240 supported by the secondcover 270 may be also stably supported on the first grill cover 320.

The seals 326 a may be arranged between the grill cover mounting parts278 a and the mounting guides 326. That is, the seals 326 a may beprovided below the mounting guides 326, and may be in close contact withthe upper surfaces of the grill cover mounting parts 278 a. By the seals326 a, leaking of the defrosting water along spaces between the secondcover 270 and the mounting guides 326 may be stabilized, and the secondcover 270 may be more stably supported on the first grill cover 320.

A cover guide 276 supporting a pipe inserting part (or defrost waterguide tab) 242 b of the defrosting water tray 240 may be included in therear portion of the second cover 270. The defrost water guide tab 242 bmay be a part protruding rearward from a body of the defrosting watertray 240. The shape of the cover guide 276 may correspond to the shapeof the defrost water guide tab 242 b.

At least portions of the defrost water guide tab 242 b and the coverguide 276 may be inserted into the drain pipe 295. To achieve this, theleft-right widths of the defrost water guide tab 242 b and the coverguide 276 may be smaller than a diameter of an inlet of the drain pipe295. Thus, while the defrosting water is discharged, the defrostingwater may be prevented from being leaked to the outside of the drainpipe 295.

A discharge hole 276 a through which water flowing through the defrostwater guide tab 242 b is discharged to the drain pipe 295 may be formedin the cover guide 276. The discharge hole 276 a may be formed on a rearside of the defrost water guide tab 242 b. The water flowing through thedefrost water guide tab 242 b may be discharged to the drain pipe 295through the discharge hole 276 a.

The second cover 270 may further include support protrusions 279provided on opposite sides of the cover guide 276. The supportprotrusions 279 may be supported by the cover support members 335 of thesecond grill cover 330. The support protrusions 279 may be supported bythe cover support members 335, so that the second cover 270 and thedefrosting water tray 240 may be stably supported on the second grillcover 330.

Referring to FIGS. 23 and 24, the refrigerator 10 according to theembodiment may further include the gas-liquid separator 260 arranged atan exit of the evaporator 220 to separate a gas refrigerant of therefrigerant passing through the evaporator 220 so as to supply the gasrefrigerant to the suction pipe 290. The gas-liquid separator 260 may bearranged in the fan suction passage 227 and may be arranged to beinclined upward by a setting angle θ3 with respect to the horizontalsurface.

In consideration of a function of the gas-liquid separator 260, thegas-liquid separator 260 may be arranged to stand up in a verticaldirection, and a port through which the gas refrigerant is dischargedmay be arranged at an upper portion of the gas-liquid separator 260.This is because even while the gas refrigerant separated by thegas-liquid separator 260 may be discharged, a liquid refrigerant storedin the gas-liquid separator 260 may be prevented from being discharged.

However, in the present embodiment, when the gas-liquid separator 260 isarranged to stand up in a vertical direction, the vertical height of thecold air supplying device 100 may increase, and accordingly, the heightof the partition wall 50 may increase. Thus, in the present embodiment,the gas-liquid separator 260 may be inclined upward by the setting angleθ3 with respect to the horizontal surface such that even while theheight of the cold air supplying device 100 is relatively reduced, afunction of the gas-liquid separator 260 is easily performed. As anexample, the setting angle θ3 may be formed in a range of 20-40 degrees.

The gas-liquid separator 260 may include a gas-liquid separating body261 configured to store the refrigerant. The gas-liquid separating body261 may extend to be upward inclined by the setting angle θ3 withrespect to the horizontal surface.

The gas-liquid separator 260 may include a refrigerant inlet 262 whichis provided above the gas-liquid separating body 261 and into which therefrigerant evaporated by the evaporator 220 is introduced. As anexample, the refrigerant inlet 262 may include a pipe, and the pipe maybe inserted from an upper portion of the gas-liquid separating body 261to extend to the inside of the gas-liquid separating body 261. Therefrigerant inlet 262 may also extend to be inclined upward with respectto the horizontal surface.

The refrigerant inlet 262 may include an inlet 262 a and an outlet 262b. The inlet 262 a may guide the refrigerant to the refrigerant inlet262, and the outlet 262 b may discharge the refrigerant introducedthrough the refrigerant inlet 262 to the gas-liquid separating body 261.The inlet 262 a may be located outside the gas-liquid separating body261, and the outlet 262 b may be located inside the gas-liquidseparating body 261.

The gas-liquid separator 260 may further include a gas refrigerantdischarging part or pipe 265 through which the gas refrigerant among therefrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separating body 261 is discharged.The gas refrigerant discharging pipe 265 may be connected to the suctionpipe 290. The gas refrigerant discharging pipe 265 may include adischarge port 266 through which the refrigerant stored in thegas-liquid separating body 261 is introduced into the gas refrigerantdischarging part 265.

The height of the discharge port 266 may be higher than the height of anoutlet pipe 221 of the evaporator 220. As an example, the height H1 ofthe discharge port 266 with respect to a predetermined reference surfacemay be higher than the height H2 of the outlet pipe 221 of theevaporator 220. When the height H1 is lower than the height H2, becausethe head pressure of the outlet pipe 221 of the evaporator 220 becomeslarger than the head pressure of the refrigerant stored in thegas-liquid separating body 261, the refrigerant of the gas-liquidseparating body 261 may be introduced into the gas refrigerantdischarging pipe 265 through the discharge port 266. Thus, in thepresent embodiment, the size and the inclination of the gas-liquidseparator 260 are determined such that the height H1 is higher than theheight H2.

Supply of the cold air and discharge of the defrosting water through theevaporator 220 will be described briefly with reference to FIG. 24. Thecold air stored in the storage chambers 12 and 13 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may be introduced into anevaporation chamber in which the evaporator 220 is located. The cold airstored in the refrigerator compartment 12 may be introduced into theevaporation chamber through the discharge ducts 311 constituting therefrigerator compartment suction passage (dotted line arrow).

Further, the cold air stored in the freezer compartment 13 may beintroduced into the evaporation chamber through the cover dischargeholes 275 constituting the freezer compartment suction passage. Suchflow of the cold air may be performed on opposite sides of theevaporator 220 through the first and second heat exchangers 220 a and220 b. The cold air introduced from the opposite sides of the evaporator220 may pass through the refrigerant pipes 221 and the fins 223, may becombined with each other in the fan suction passage 227, and then mayflow rearward.

Further, the cold air of the fan suction passage 227 may be introducedinto the grill covers 320, 330, and 340 through the fan suction port 322and pass through the blower fan 350. Further, at least a portion of thecold air passing through the blower fan 350 may flow to the refrigeratorcompartment cold air duct 81 through the first supply duct 380 and maybe supplied to the refrigerator compartment 12 through the cold airdischarging port 82 (flow A). Further, the remaining cold air among thecold air passing through the blower fan 350 may flow to the first andsecond supply ports 325 and 346 or the cover duct 349 and may besupplied to the freezer compartment 13 (flow B).

While the cold air is supplied through the evaporator 220, thecondensate or the defrosting water f1 may be generated by the evaporator220, and the condensate or the defrosting water may drop to thedefrosting water tray 240 provided below the evaporator 220. The watercollected in the defrosting water tray 240 may flow toward the rear sideof the defrosting water tray 240. As described above, the defrostingwater tray 240 may be downward inclined from the front side toward therear side thereof, so that the condensate or the defrosting water mayeasily flow. The water flowing through the defrosting water tray 240 maypass through the grill covers 320, 330, and 340, and may be introducedinto the drain pipe 295.

Further, the condensate f2 generated by the blower fan 350 or in thegrill covers 320 and 330 may drop to the defrosting water tray 240through the condensate hole 336 c and may be introduced into the drainpipe 295. That is, the defrosting water f1 and the condensate f2 may becombined with each other in the defrosting water tray 240 and may beintroduced into the drain pipe 295.

The water introduced into the drain pipe 295 may flow downward to beintroduced into the machine room 80, and may be collected in the drainfan 85 (see FIG. 25) provided in the machine room 80. According to suchan operation, the defrosting water may be easily discharged.

Referring to FIGS. 25 and 26, the refrigerator 10 according to theembodiment may include a compressor 91 configured to compress arefrigerant, a condenser 92 arranged in an outlet side of the compressor91 to condense the compressed refrigerant, an expansion device 96configured to decompress the refrigerant condensed by the condenser 92,and the evaporator 220 configured to evaporate the refrigerantdecompressed by the expansion device 96. As an example, the expansiondevice 96 may include a capillary tube. Further, the gas-liquidseparator 260 configured to separate the gas refrigerant among theevaporated refrigerant and guide the separated gas refrigerant to thesuction pipe 290 of the compressor 91 may be provided in an outlet sideof the evaporator 220.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a dryer 95 configured to filtermoisture or foreign matters among the refrigerant condensed by thecondenser 92. The dryer 95 may be provided on an outlet side of thecondenser 92 and on an inlet side of the expansion device 96.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a first hot line pipe 93 whichextends from the outlet side of the condenser 92 to the front surface ofthe cabinet 11 and through which the condensed refrigerant flows. Thefirst hot line pipe 93 may have a portion with which the doors 21 and 22on the front surface of the cabinet 11 are in close contact to preventdew from occurring in the cabinet 11 due to a temperature differencebetween the insides and the outsides of the storage chambers 12 and 13.

The refrigerator 10 may further include a second hot line pipe 94through which the refrigerant condensed by the condenser 92 flows andwhich prevents the drain pipe 295 from being frozen. In the presentembodiment, because the drain pipe 295 is embedded in the rear surfaceof the freezer compartment, the drain pipe 295 may have a relatively lowtemperature. Thus, the drain pipe 295 may be frozen, and when freezingoccurs, the defrosting water may fail to be discharged from the drainpipe 295, and may flow back to the cold air supply 100.

Thus, in the present embodiment, the second hot line pipe 94 may supplya predetermined amount of heat to the drain pipe 295, so as to preventthe drain pipe 295 from freezing. As an example, the second hot linepipe 94 may extend from an outlet side of the first hot line pipe 93 andmay be connected to the dryer 95. That is, the refrigerant condensed bythe condenser 92 may pass through the first hot line pipe 93, and thenflow through the second hot line pipe 94. However, the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. Further, the second hot line pipe 94may be connected to the outlet side of the condenser 92, and the firsthot line pipe 93 may be connected to an outlet side of the second hotline pipe 94.

The second hot line pipe 94 may be arranged to be in contact with thedrain pipe 295. As an example, the second hot line pipe 94 may becoupled to an outer surface of the drain pipe 295 through welding. Inthis way, the drain pipe 295 may be prevented from being frozen usingthe condensed refrigerant, so that costs may be reduced as compared to acase where a heater or the like is used.

A refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure mayinclude a partition wall provided between first and second storagechambers vertically arranged and having a partition wall insulator, anevaporator case arranged in the second storage chamber and providedunder a bottom surface of the partition wall, an evaporator installedinside the evaporator case, a grill cover provided on a rear side of theevaporator case and configured to accommodate a blower fan, and supportguides provided in the grill cover and supporting a rear portion of theevaporator. The grill cover may include a first grill cover, and thefirst grill cover may include a fan suction port configured to suctioncold air passing through the evaporator and guide the cold air to theblower fan.

The first grill cover may further include a first supply port formed onone side of the fan suction port and configured to discharge the airpassing through the blower fan to the second storage chamber. Thesupport guides may be provided on opposite sides of the fan suctionport. The evaporator may include refrigerant pipes and fins, and thesupport guides may support the refrigerant pipes.

The refrigerator may further include a holder coupled to a front portionor a rear portion of the evaporator. The support guides may include afirst pipe support supporting bent pipes of the refrigerant pipes, whichprotrude from the holder. The first grill cover may further include ablocking wall protruding from a front surface of the first grill coverand configured to block a space between the evaporator and the firstgrill cover, and the blocking wall may restrain the cold air introducedinto the evaporator case from bypassing the evaporator and beingsuctioned into the fan suction port.

The refrigerator may further include a hook device supporting a frontportion of the evaporator and coupled to the evaporator case. The grillcover may further include a second grill cover coupled to a rear portionof the first grill cover, and the second grill cover may include a fanseat on which the blower fan is seated, and support guides supportingthe evaporator case.

The grill cover may further include a third grill cover coupled to alower side of the first grill cover, and the third grill cover mayinclude a second supply port configured to discharge the cold airpassing through the blower fan to the second storage chamber. Theevaporator case may include a first cover provided on a lower side ofthe evaporator, and a second cover provided on an upper side of theevaporator. The first and second grill covers may include a first coverinserting hole into which the second cover is inserted.

The evaporator may include first and second heat exchangers arranged tobe inclined, and a fan suction passage which is formed between the firstand second heat exchangers and through which cold air is suctioned tothe grill cover. A gas-liquid separator, into which the refrigerantdischarged from the evaporator is introduced so that a gas refrigerantis separated, may be arranged in the fan suction passage. The gas-liquidseparator may be arranged to be inclined upward by a setting angle withrespect to a horizontal surface.

According to the refrigerator having the above-described configurationaccording to the embodiment of the present disclosure, because anevaporator may be installed on one side of a partition wall by which arefrigerator compartment and a freezer compartment are verticallypartitioned, an internal storage space of the refrigerator may beenlarged, and withdrawal distances of drawers provided in therefrigerator may be increased. Thus, storage ability for food may beimproved.

Further, the first and second heat exchangers of the evaporator may beinclined from a central portion toward lateral sides of the evaporator,so that the heat exchange area of the evaporator may be increased, andthe relatively large thickness of an insulator located in the partitionwall may be secured. Further, a predetermined space may be securedbetween the first and second heat exchangers, so that it is easy toinstall a component, such as a gas/liquid separator, of the refrigeratoror to perform a welding operation.

A defrosting water tray may be provided on a lower side of theevaporator, and the defrosting water tray may be inclined downward fromopposite sides to the central portion to correspond to the shape of theevaporator, so that defrosting water may smoothly flow. Because a frontportion of the evaporator is supported by a hook apparatus and a lowerportion of the evaporator is supported by a grill cover, the evaporatormay be stably supported on an interior of an evaporator case. Because ablocking wall is provided in the grill cover, cold air suctioned intothe evaporator case may be prevented from bypassing the evaporator andbeing directly introduced into a side of a blower fan.

A mounting guide may be provided in the grill cover, so that adefrosting water tray is easily mounted, and the defrosting water trayis stably supported by the mounting guide. Further, because a seal isprovided between the mounting guide and a rear side of the defrostingwater tray, the defrosting water may be prevented from leaking through acoupling portion of the defrosting water tray and the grill cover, andstable coupling between the defrosting water tray and the grill covermay be achieved.

A condensate guide may be provided in the grill cover, so that acondensate occurring around the blower fan may be easily discharged tothe defrosting water tray. Further, a guide rib may be provided in theevaporator case, so that the defrosting water existing inside or on theevaporator case may be prevented from dropping into the storage chamber.

A heat supply pipe may be provided in the drain pipe, so that the drainpipe may be prevented from being frozen using a condensed refrigeranthaving a relatively high temperature. Further, the height of a portionof the gas-liquid separator where a gas refrigerant is bypassed may behigher than an upper end of pipes on an outlet side of the evaporator,so that a liquid refrigerant inside the gas-liquid separator may beprevented from being introduced into a suction pipe.

It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to asbeing “on” another element or layer, the element or layer can bedirectly on another element or layer or intervening elements or layers.In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on”another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layerspresent. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third,etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components,regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions,layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These termsare only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer orsection from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer or section could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the present invention.

Spatially relative terms, such as “lower”, “upper” and the like, may beused herein for ease of description to describe the relationship of oneelement or feature to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated inthe figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms areintended to encompass different orientations of the device in use oroperation, in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. Forexample, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements describedas “lower” relative to other elements or features would then be oriented“upper” relative the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplaryterm “lower” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. Thedevice may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used hereininterpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

Embodiments of the disclosure are described herein with reference tocross-section illustrations that are schematic illustrations ofidealized embodiments (and intermediate structures) of the disclosure.As such, variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result,for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, embodiments of the disclosure should not be construed aslimited to the particular shapes of regions illustrated herein but areto include deviations in shapes that result, for example, frommanufacturing.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “anembodiment,” “example embodiment,” etc., means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. Theappearances of such phrases in various places in the specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic is described inconnection with any embodiment, it is submitted that it is within thepurview of one skilled in the art to effect such feature, structure, orcharacteristic in connection with other ones of the embodiments.

Although embodiments have been described with reference to a number ofillustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood that numerousother modifications and embodiments can be devised by those skilled inthe art that will fall within the spirit and scope of the principles ofthis disclosure. More particularly, various variations and modificationsare possible in the component parts and/or arrangements of the subjectcombination arrangement within the scope of the disclosure, the drawingsand the appended claims. In addition to variations and modifications inthe component parts and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also beapparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet including afirst storage chamber and a second storage chamber; a partition wallprovided between the first and second storage chambers and having apartition wall insulator to vertically separate the first and secondstorage chambers; an evaporator casing provided over a surface of thepartition wall and provided in one of the first storage chamber and thesecond storage chamber; an evaporator installed inside the evaporatorcasing, at least one grill cover provided at a rear side of theevaporator case and configured to accommodate a blower fan, the at leastone grill cover including a first grill cover; and at least one supportguide provided in the at least one grill cover and supporting a rearportion of the evaporator, wherein the first grill cover includes: a fansuction port configured to suck cold air passing through the evaporatorand guide the cold air to the blower fan; and at least one first supplyport provided adjacent to the fan suction port and configured todischarge the air passing through the blower fan to the second storagechamber; and wherein the at least one grill cover further includes asecond grill cover coupled to a lower side of the first grill cover, andwherein the second grill cover includes a second supply port configuredto discharge cold air passing through the blower fan to the secondstorage chamber.
 2. The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at leastone support guide includes a plurality of support guides provided onopposite sides of the fan suction port.
 3. The refrigerator of claim 1,wherein the evaporator includes refrigerant pipes and fins, and whereinthe at least one support guide supports the refrigerant pipes.
 4. Therefrigerator of claim 1, further including: a holder coupled to a frontportion or a rear portion of the evaporator, wherein the at least onesupport guide includes a first pipe support that supports a bent portionof the refrigerant pipes which protrude from the holder.
 5. Therefrigerator of claim 1, wherein the first grill cover further includesa blocking wall protruding from a front surface of the first grill coverand configured to block a space between the evaporator and the firstgrill cover, wherein the blocking wall is configured to restrain thecold air introduced into the evaporator case from bypassing theevaporator and being suctioned into the fan suction port.
 6. Therefrigerator of claim 1, further including a hook that supports a frontportion of the evaporator and is coupled to the evaporator casing. 7.The refrigerator of claim 1, wherein the at least one grill coverfurther includes a third grill cover coupled to a rear portion of thefirst grill cover, and wherein the third grill cover includes: a fanseat on which the blower fan is seated; and a coupling guide providedadjacent to the fan seat, the coupling guide being configured toprotrude forward from a front portion of the third grill cover tosupport a rear portion of the first grill cover.
 8. The refrigerator ofclaim 1, wherein the evaporator casing includes: a first cover providedon an upper side of the evaporator; and a second cover provided on alower side of the evaporator.
 9. The refrigerator of claim 8, wherein atleast one of the first grill cover and the second grill cover includes afirst cover inserting portion into which the second cover is inserted.10. The refrigerator of claim 9, wherein the first cover insertingportion includes: a first recess recessed upward from a lower edge ofthe first grill cover; and a second recess recessed downward from anupper edge of the second grill cover.
 11. The refrigerator of claim 10,wherein the first cover inserting portion further includes an insertionguide provided on a front surface of the second grill cover andprotruding forward from the second recess.
 12. The refrigerator of claim1 wherein the evaporator includes: a first heat exchanger inclined froma central portion of the evaporator toward a first lateral side of therefrigerator; a second heat exchanger inclined from the central portionof the evaporator toward a second lateral side of the refrigeratoropposite the first lateral side; and a fan suction passage which isformed between the first and second heat exchangers and through whichcold air is suctioned to the grill cover.
 13. The refrigerator of claim12, further including a gas-liquid separator provided in the fan suctionpassage, wherein gas refrigerant is separated from the refrigerantdischarged from the evaporator.
 14. The refrigerator of claim 13,wherein the gas-liquid separator is inclined by a predetermined anglewith respect to a horizontal surface.
 15. The refrigerator of claim 13,wherein the gas-liquid separator includes: a gas-liquid separating bodyin which the refrigerant is stored; a refrigerant inlet which isconnected to the gas-liquid separating body and into which therefrigerant discharged from the evaporator is introduced; and a gasrefrigerant discharging pipe connected to the gas-liquid separating bodyand configured to discharge the gas refrigerant stored in the gas-liquidseparating body.
 16. The refrigerator of claim 15, wherein the gasrefrigerant discharging pipe includes a discharge port positioned higherthan refrigerant pipes located on an outlet side of the evaporator, andconfigured to guide the refrigerant stored in the gas-liquid separatingbody to the gas refrigerant discharging pipe.
 17. The refrigerator ofclaim 1, wherein the first storage chamber is a refrigeratorcompartment, and the second storage chamber is a freezer compartment.18. A refrigerator comprising: a cabinet including a first storagechamber and a second storage chamber; a partition wall provided betweenthe first and second storage chambers and having a partition wallinsulator to vertically separate the first and second storage chambers;an evaporator casing provided over a surface of the partition wall andprovided in one of the first storage chamber and the second storagechamber; an evaporator installed inside the evaporator casing; at leastone grill cover provided at a rear side of the evaporator case andconfigured to accommodate a blower fan, the at least one grill coverincluding a first grill cover; and at least one support guide providedin the at least one grill cover and supporting a rear portion of theevaporator, wherein the first grill cover includes: a fan suction portconfigured to suck cold air passing through the evaporator and guide thecold air to the blower fan; at least one first supply port providedadjacent to the fan suction port and configured to discharge the airpassing through the blower fan to the second storage chamber; and ablocking wall protruding from a front surface of the first grill coverand configured to block a space between the evaporator and the firstgrill cover, the blocking wall being configured to restrain the cold airintroduced into the evaporator case from bypassing the evaporator andbeing suctioned into the fan suction port.
 19. The refrigerator of claim18, wherein the blocking wall is provided on opposite sides of the frontsurface of the first grill cover.
 20. The refrigerator of claim 18,wherein the at least one support guide is located between the blockingwalls and the fan suction port.
 21. The refrigerator of claim 18,further comprising at least one condensate guide that protrudes from thefront surface of the at least one grill cover, the at least onecondensate guide is provided at a bottom of the first pipe support. 22.The refrigerator of claim 21, wherein the at least one condensate guidecomprises: a first guide extending to be inclined downward from oppositesides of the front surface of the at least one grill cover to a centralportion of the at least one grill cover.
 23. The refrigerator of claim22, wherein the at least one condensate guide further comprises: asecond guides extending to be inclined downward from opposite sides ofthe fan suction port.
 24. A refrigerator comprising a cabinet includinga first storage chamber and a second storage chamber; a partition wallprovided between the first and second storage chambers and having apartition wall insulator to vertically separate the first and secondstorage chambers; an evaporator casing provided over a surface of thepartition wall and provided in one of the first storage chamber and thesecond storage chamber; an evaporator installed inside the evaporatorcasing, the evaporator including refrigerant pipes and fins; at leastone grill cover provided at a rear side of the evaporator case andconfigured to accommodate a blower fan, the at least one grill coverhaving a fan suction port configured to suck cold air passing throughthe evaporator and guide the cold air to the blower fan; at least onesupport guide provided in the at least one grill cover and supporting arear portion of the evaporator; and a holder coupled to a rear portionof the evaporator, the holder having a plurality of through-holes intowhich the refrigerant pipes are respectively inserted, wherein the atleast one support guide includes a first pipe support that protrudesfrom a front surface of the at least one grill cover, the first pipesupport being configured to support a bent portion of the refrigerantpipes which protrude rearward from the through holes of the holder.